He’s not talking about Larian, he’s talking aboutbthe actual D&D team at Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast. Hasbro got a new CEO last year and the way they’ve been operating certain business units like WotC has changed dramatically, coupled with massive layoffs across many Hasbro subsidiaries. All he’s saying is the DnD team at WotC now is completely different to the one that Larian knew as they developed BG3.

I’m not super far in, but I have heard it. The first time I remember hearing it is in the opening act when Lin is telling Barrett about you. Also when Sam talks to the marshal about you in Akila City. I suppose there are only so many opportunities for other characters to talk about you while you’re standing right there, but it does pop up, so it’s nice to have the option for those moments.

I honestly did not like BDSP’s art style. It somewhat had that same “toyish” vibe, but I feel like it didn’t suit that game anywhere near as much as it did Link’s Awakening, nevermind that it lacked a lot of the visual polish LA HD had. I get that it was meant to be the proportions of the original sprites but in 3D, but if they wanted to remain faithful to the original pixel art, I think an octopath-like visual style could have been an interesting route to take.

I’m still not 100% sure if I like the art style. I do think it looks cute and it is very polished (in more ways than one). I would’ve liked to see something perhaps a little bit closer to the photographs taken throughout the game. Other than the visuals, there was just a lot of expression in Link’s face in those photographs, and the style we got makes the characters feel a little bit rigid.

That said, the game will always be quite special to me, so no matter what the graphics, just visiting Koholint island is such a good vibe. A fun and concise game, no more and no less than is necessary to make for a memorable adventure and a perfect setting.

I hope we get new 2D adventures that share this kind of spirit of Zelda that the 3D games are just too big to capture.